Iran Shares Seven-Day Hormuz Plan as Indirect US Talks Continue
TEHRAN: Iran has shared a seven-day Hormuz plan with the United States through the mediator Qatar to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, telling Washington that “the choice now rests with the United States”, as indirect talks between the two sides continue through Qatar and Oman.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi revealed the proposal while speaking at a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) foreign ministers in Baghdad on Saturday. “Security cannot be restored by repeating past mistakes and crimes,” he said. “You cannot bomb a country, threaten to destroy it and impose sanctions on it and then expect normal navigation security to return.”
The seven-day Hormuz plan is Tehran’s latest attempt to break the deadlock over the strategic waterway, which has been at the centre of the regional war since February. Araghchi stressed that Iran would defend its people and sovereignty but saw “no contradiction between defending our rights and pursuing peace”.
Indirect talks through Qatar and Oman
Separately, indirect talks between Iran and the US are continuing through mediation by Qatar and Oman, Iran’s *ILNA* news agency reported, quoting a member of the Iranian parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee.
Yaqoub Rezazadeh said both sides had presented conditions through the mediators. “We have presented a set of conditions, and the other side has also presented a set of conditions. We are now waiting to see whether the conditions we announced will be accepted by the Americans,” he said, adding that the negotiations were being overseen by Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
The diplomatic movement comes amid a fast-moving battlefield picture, tracked through the evening in Dawn’s live war updates. On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said a second supertanker had caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz after hitting mines, claiming it carried more than two million barrels of crude oil and was attempting to pass through the strait illegally.
Claims and counter-claims in Yemen
The war’s Yemen front also saw sharp claims on Saturday. The spokesperson for the Yemeni government’s armed forces said 1,417 “precise and direct strikes” had been conducted against the Houthis over the past 24 hours, claiming about 800 fighters killed or wounded and more than 190 armoured vehicles and supply assets destroyed.
Houthi media, meanwhile, claimed Saudi strikes had killed at least 12 people in Yemen, three of them children, alleging that warplanes targeted civilian homes in Taiz governorate and used cluster bombs. None of these battlefield claims have been independently verified.
Yemeni government forces also said they attacked Houthi positions in the southeastern Al-Jawf governorate with artillery and drones, while the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted four drones over Riyadh and the kingdom’s eastern and southern regions.
Seven-day Hormuz plan: what it means for Pakistan
For Pakistan, the Hormuz crisis is not a distant conflict. Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has already called the attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure “worrying” for Pakistan’s economic outlook, and any prolonged disruption of the strait — through which a large share of the world’s oil flows — would feed directly into Pakistan’s fuel import bill.
Feature Pakistan has been tracking the crisis closely, from Iran’s Guards saying a supertanker exploded after hitting a mine in the strait to the latest developments as the war widened, including JD Vance’s suggestion of disagreement with President Trump over the Iran war.
Whether the seven-day plan reopens the strait now depends on Washington’s response. With indirect talks under way and conditions on the table, the coming days will show if diplomacy can do what force has not.
Frequently asked questions
What is Iran’s seven-day Hormuz plan?
Iran says it has shared a seven-day plan with the United States through the mediator Qatar to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The details have not been made public; Tehran says the choice now rests with the US.
Who is mediating the indirect Iran-US talks?
Indirect contacts are being conducted through Qatar and Oman, with both sides presenting conditions through the mediators, according to Iranian lawmaker Yaqoub Rezazadeh.
What happened to the supertankers in the Strait of Hormuz?
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said two supertankers caught fire in the strait after hitting mines, each reportedly carrying more than two million barrels of crude oil. The claims have not been independently verified.
How does the Hormuz crisis affect Pakistan?
Pakistan imports a large share of its fuel through Gulf shipping routes. The finance minister has said attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure are worrying for Pakistan’s economic outlook, as disruption could raise fuel prices.
